Muslim Congressman Walks a Tightrope, And Manages To Keep His Balance

by Nathan Guttman
Forward
April 1, 2009

http://www.islamist-watch.org/1658/muslim-congressman-walks-a-tightrope-and-manages

Excerpt:

"Did you lose your family, brother?" Rep. Keith Ellison asked as he gently touched the arm of the young Palestinian standing outside the ruins of what was his Gaza home. After hearing that the man had lost both his parents, Ellison promised, "We'll go back and tell them what we saw."

The exchange was caught on a home video camera by Minnesota Democrat Ellison and by his fellow congressman Brian Baird of Washington, the first American lawmakers to visit Gaza after the Israeli military campaign.

Their visit resulted in a seven-minute video clip documenting the destruction in Gaza and also looking at the suffering of Jewish residents of nearby Sderot. Although the emphasis in the clip is put on the heavy price paid by the Palestinians, Ellison made clear that the Gaza story has more than one side. "It's an awful situation, for both," he concluded in his on-the-scene narration ending the clip.

Ellison, the first Muslim member of Congress, has been walking a fine line ever since his election in 2006. Embraced by both the Muslim and the Jewish communities, Ellison has been trying to strike a new tone, one that is simultaneously supportive of the Palestinian cause and sympathetic to the Israeli side.

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